


The Flap Of A Butterfly's Wings

by PanWithAPlan



Category: GreedFall (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26931418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanWithAPlan/pseuds/PanWithAPlan
Summary: ...Can Cause A HurricaneDisappointed with Constantin's actions the morning of his departure, Prince d'Orsay believes he is relying too much on his cousin to get him out of his troubles. As a punishment for him and a reward for De Sardet's actions that morning, he allows De Sardet to stay with his mother for another month before journeying to Teer Fradee.Everything Changes.
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be sporadic because of school. There will be romance later but not at the moment. Hope you enjoy it!  
> DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM GREEDFALL OR ANY OF THE PLOT POINTS EITHER.

It was torture, waking up each day, not knowing if it would be your mothers last. 'Maybe she had had a point,' De Sardet thought, ' and I should have left with Constantin.' With each morning that passed, Princess De Sardet seemed to grow frailer and frailer. Soon she was confined to the bed in her quarters, though she hardly slept with the pain that wracked her body in increasingly regular intervals. Every day De Sardet would sit with her and every day she would beg him to leave for Teer Fradee.

"It's too late now, mother," he responded softly one evening. "The next ship leaving for the island is not due to dock for another two weeks."

She closed her eyes in resigned anguish. As she sighed, her expression twisted into one of intense pain; her body seized. The crow-masked doctor escorted him out of the room. He could tell by how she was acting that she did not have long left.

It was with a heavy heart that De Sardet visited his mother in her chambers the next day. As he entered the room, the sickly-sweet smell of herbal concoctions and the stench of death filled his nose and turned his stomach.

"My child! Tell me, what did the doctor say to you today?" She weakly exclaimed, reaching for De Sardet's hand. He was silent. Princess De Sardet's face showed understanding but also a slight nervousness. Whatever she had to say would surely be the last full conversation that he will have with his mother before she tired too much to speak more than one sentence at a time.

"Then I must tell you something important, my dear." She rasped. "Though you are my child in every way that matters, I must confess that you are not of my flesh and blood."

The air stilled. The silence - or was it the words lingering in the air? - choked De Sardet until his head swam with shock. He swallowed thickly.

"I-I'm not," He cleared his throat, but it did not seem to help, "I'm not your son?"

"No."

The word pierced him like a sword through the heart. Suddenly, he found himself unable to breathe. 

"Why would you keep this from me? Why tell me now? I- Is this some sick way of encouraging me to grieve less? No, you jest. Surely you jest!" With each question that tumbled from his lips, he grew more and more frantic until he brushed off her words with the air of someone who knew they were in denial.

"In a bid to find a cure for the Malichor, your uncle did something horrendous. He retrieved a powerful healer from one of the native clans of the island. She-" His mother paused. "She was pregnant and gave birth on the journey to Sérène. When she would not cooperate in finding a cure, your uncle separated her from her child. Though I could not go against my brother's wishes without inciting his wrath, I swore I would raise you with love and care in her place."  
By the end of her confession, her eyes were drooping shut, and exhaustion coloured her voice. 

De Sardet waited until she fell asleep, counting five deep breaths before he allowed himself to show what he was feeling. Tears beaded in the corner of his eyes, and he departed from his mother's bedside without a word.

For two days, he stayed away. In the quiet of his room, he found himself turning his thoughts over and over again. He knew how to read between the lines. It was evident that his birth mother had not joined the voyage from Teer Fradee willingly. De Sardet was baffled that the Nauts had allowed the Prince d'Orsay to take him from them. Most know that any child born on a Naut ship belonged to them. 

As the thought struck him, he realised that surely there would be some kind of consequence to Prince d'Orsay's actions; De Sardet stood up in shock. Mr de Courcillion's words the day of Constantin's departure struck him with an uneasy clarity.

"Humm...No. That pact ended a long time ago. This cabin boy couldn't have been part of that contract."

It was just after they had discovered that the Fontaine's had kidnapped their Sea-Given son. In a flurry of motion, De Sardet leapt for the door and strode confidently down to the records room. He had a contract to find.

Finding out that 15 families had to give up their children for him was a shock to De Sardet's system. It was almost like he had realised how quickly families could be ripped apart and was struck by the sudden urge to see his mother. Without another moment to lose, he burst through the doors of his mother's chambers and rushed to her side. She looked worse, he realised. She won't last the week.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to visit mother, and I realise that it is late, but I had to see you. No matter what you say, you will always be my mother. The islander did not raise me, you did." 

Princess De Sardet smiled softly, sadly. With a rattling breath, she gestured him closer and hoarsely whispered: "You will always be my son." With this said, she shut her eyes and drifted to sleep.

As always, De Sardet stayed to watch her breathing deeply in her sleep and count 5 breaths before leaving.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

A grief-filled wail echoed around the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Sweat beaded on De Sardet’s forehead as he stepped closer to the burning pyre before him. The anguish at watching his mother’s body going up in flames was almost akin to the moments after she passed. He had sat there, clutching her cold hand for hours before he was forced to leave so they could prepare the body. Princess de Sardet would not have a royal funeral; the first royal in the last 3 centuries not to. It was necessary to bur the bodies of Malichor victims to limit the spread. Despite this, De Sardet felt a deep resentment towards the Bridge Alliance scientists for discovering this as the flames flickered and crackled.

Strangely, looking at the funeral pyre also brought on a small sense of relief. He would finally be free of the oppressive and sick atmosphere permeating Serene. Even though De Sardet had wanted to stay the extra month with his mother, the lost look in Contantin’s eyes and watching Princess de Sardet succumb to illness made it feel more like a punishment. Taking a deep breath to banish the dark thoughts from his mind, De Sardet turned his back to the fire and forced himself to walk away. In a week he would be embarking to Teer Fradee.

The next week passed in a blur of endless tasks to complete and ensuring that the crates of his belongings did not need anything else. Having expected to leave a month before, almost all of his possessions were ready for departure. Every time he left his chambers, pitying looks would follow. Though well-meaning, they still made De Sardet inexplicably mad. How many of them knew that he was mourning someone who was not even related to him? It haunted him still, no matter what h said to her in her last moments. How do you move on from a revelation that turns your whole world on its head? De Sardet still did not know.

The Naut Captain transporting them seemed capable but also held herself more distant than the Captain giving Constantin passage to New Serene. As De Sardet made his way through the port quarter to where her ship was stationed, she looked at him with poorly hidden disdain and distrust. She seemed older than Captain Vasco and also had fewer tattoos on her face. Her sandy coloured hair was tucked into a neat bun at the back of her neck and gave her a no-nonsense look. He felt strangely like a specimen that scientists that were fascinated with. He was so unsettled by the way she was looking at him, he startled at a Coin Guard recruit calling for him.

“Your Excellency!” he saluted, “Permission to speak?”

“Granted,” De Sardet replied, curiously. It often took a lot of courage for a recruit to approach him. Usually, Coin Guard’s scattered at the sight of their royal employers.

“Will Captain Kurt join you when you arrive, Your Excellency? The Coin guard want to ensure your safety.” The concern in his eyes made it impossible to become offended.

“Not to worry recruit, Captain Kurt will accompany me on my diplomatic ventures around the island. However, you would do not to insult me, though it was obvious you did not mean to do so.” It was a peculiar question, and De Sardet could tell that his answer did not placate the young guard at all. In fact, it almost looked like he was more worried.

The recruit opened his mouth to say more but the bark of his name by his superior officer. De Sardet waved off the apologies and put the strange conversation from his mind. After all, he had a boa- ship, a ship to catch.

Captain Florentina, as she introduced herself as, very obviously did not like nobles and seemed put out that she had to transport them across the sea. “Damned Vasco, getting out of taking both royal brats,” she muttered under her breath. De Sardet pretended not to hear her. As he stepped onto the deck of the ship with no Constantin, Kurt or Mr de Courcillon as company only one thought floated through his mind.

This was going to be a long trip.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is appreciated! Ideas are also welcome but know that I do have a vague outline of the story.


End file.
